Ettiquette of Duaa'From an ICNA conference presented by Iman Badawi and Erum ChistyNotes by Erum M.

Rasoolullah (saws) taught that everytime you do Tasbeeh, a plant is beingplanted for you in Jannah. Rasoolullah (saws) said what means: "Du3aa is worship" [authentic hadith]

There are five elements that cause the du3aa to be answered:

I. A Reason related to the one making du3aa, or a state in which he is inthat makes his more likely to be answered (as mentioned in the Quran andSunnah), examples include:1) fasting person2) traveller3) one who is oppressed4) a pious child who makes du3aa for his parents

II. A Reason related to the du3aa itself; meaning the ettiquettes of du3aaare adhered to so that the du3aa may be perfected: 1) begin by praising Allah and sending prayers and blessings uponRasoolullah (saws) 2) gain nearness to Allah through tawassul, either by: a. calling upon Allah by His names and attributes b. calling upon Allah by one's good deeds (ex. like saying "O Allah, I have beautiful hair and I covered it for your sake and for no other reason") 3) Be on wudu 4) Face the Qiblah 5) Never ask for that which is Haraam (such as breaking ties of kinship 6) Ask about anything and everything you need and the best way is togenerally asked for the good of dunya and aakhirah 7) Make you du3aa contingent upon Allah's knowledge (for examples say:Allah give me such-and-such "if it is good for me" because only He trulyknows what is good for you. 8)Insist for it, beg, stay determined to get it b/c you are fullydependent on Him. 9) Don't use "if you want/will to" because Allah does what he wants.10) Raise hands to shoulder level with palms facing towards the sky11) Lower one's gaze in humility and don't look to the sky12) Lower one's voice in humility, don't say it aloud13) End your du3aa with praise of Allah and prayers upon Rasoolullah13) Be patient in waiting for the response:Rasoolullah (saws) teaches us that whenever anyone makes du3aa, hewill be answered unless he says "Allah didn't answer me." And if he is notanswered in this dunya then either Allah will remove from him some harm inthis dunya because of his du3aa or he will save his reward for him onthe Day of Judgement.

III. Special Times when duaa'is most likely to be answered: 1) when it's raining (rain is blessing from ALLAH) 2) Last 3rd of night esp. before Fajr; called Sahr 3) Between Adhan and Iqama 4) Standing at mount 'Arafat (part of Hajj)* 5) During the Qoonoot of Taraweeh in Ramadan 6) Lailatul Qadr 7) Friday, after Asr till Maghrib 8) When a fasting person breaks his fast 9) Before drinking Zam-Zam10) Right after salah**11) In sujood12) etc...

IV. That there be no obstacles for the du3aa to be answered: Thisusually refers to one's relationship with Allah. Does one truly feeldependant and humble in front of Allah? Does one truly believe thatAllah has the power to do whatever He wishes? And most importantly, isthis person so sinful, having no regard for Allah's commands, yet heexpects Allah to grant him what he wishes for? If one's food, drink, andclothing are all from Halal sources, Allah would not honor such a personwith a response as is mentioned in a hadith.

NOTE: However, all humans are sinners, and they may , at any time,choose to change and come back to Allah. True tawbah means that one'sistigfar changed their heart and being. This is what all of us shouldseek. Allah accepts the repentance from his servants if they aresincere. Even if we have sinned so much, we must always call upon Allah,for we cannot live without His blessings and sustenance. In fact, to notmake du3aa is another sin which angers Allah. So if one fears that hisdu3aa may not be answered because of sins, let him begin his du3aa withistighfar and its conditions of acceptance are the following: 1) immediately stop the sin and anything related to it. 2) regret what you did sincerely. 3) to promise never to return to that sin If it is between you and another person, then also: 4) ask their forgiveness

*fasting on the day of 'Arafah (for non-pilgrims) is highlyrecommendedand and will expiate a preceding and future year of sins.

**Du3aa may be said in any language however in salah, only Arabic isallowed. Also it is not from the sunnah to immediately start du3aa aftertasleem. Rather one should first say the following words from the sunnah:Astaghfirullah 3 times then Allahuma antas salaam wa minkassalaam tabrakata wa ta3alayta ya dhal-jalalee wal-ikram...

NOTE: For those who seek to gain tawassul to Allah, it is extremelyhelpful to memorize the 99 names of Allah and use them in your duaa'